The Best Daddy of All - Peter Horn - ★★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Peter Horn

TRANSLATOR: Johanna McCalmont

ILLUSTRATOR: Jessica Meserve

GENRE: Children's Picture Book.

PUBLICATION DATE: April 8, 2025.

RATING: 4.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: Awww, this is so cute!! Loved this picture book about little animal babies and their wonderful animal daddies. Excellent writing, adorable illustrations, fabulous sentiments. Much recommended!

This book was first published in 2002 in Switzerland under the title, “Wozu is ein Papa da?” An English translation titled “The Best Father of All” was published in the USA in 2003. This new English edition, translated by Johanna McCalmont, is due to be published in April 2025.

Dads hardly ever get a good representation in children’s fiction. Many picture books are filled with stories of mothers or of both parents. So such picture books, which speaks only about dads, come as a wonderful way of valuing what dads do for their kids. To be specific, what animal dads do for their little ones.

The books begins with a little tortoise named Sebastian sitting comfortably on the grass with his dad. When Sebastian remarks that it is quite nice and warm next to his father, Daddy Tortoise says that it is just one of the things dads do: keep you warm. Sebastian now wants to know what else dads can do. Thus begins a lovely riddle game, when Daddy Tortoise offers some clue to his son about a special dad, and young Sebastian has to guess what animal dad does that. He is thrilled to know so many amazing animal fathers, but he is also certain about who is the best daddy of all.

Sebastian and Daddy Tortoise roam all through the forest while playing this game, and thus we get a luscious glimpse at the beautiful forest and its denizens. The changing locations on every page creates a pseudo-movement effect and we feel like we are right there, walking next to the tortoise duo.

The riddles, while being a great way of meeting multiple animals, would also offer a great call-and-respond experience as little human readers could answer the same questions when going through this book along with their human daddies. The variety of animals explored through the story is excellent. I love that all of them are common enough animals so little ones won't get overwhelmed by too many new names, and will also find it easy to guess the correct answer at least a few times.

At the same time, it is probably important to remember that this is a story and not an animal documentary. Not all of the facts that Daddy Tortoise presents to Sebastian are accurate. The hedgehog trivia, about adult hedgehogs carrying fruit on their spikes, is a myth. Daddy grasshoppers technically die immediately after mating, so they can’t practically be around for their young ones. All this can be put down to creative license. As long as you aren’t using the book to teach your child animal facts, it ought to be fine.

The story is written in simple prose but is filled with chock loads of info. The textual content is divided into smaller segments, enhancing the readability of the book. No page feels cluttered.

The heartwarming cover art is what first led me to this picture book, and the inside illustrations are even more stunning. I noticed on Goodreads that the 2002 English edition had been illustrated by a different artist. Based on the cover, I can affirm that this version is so much better! Every single page is a feast for the eyes! There is so much beauty and life in the graphics. Painted in watercolour style, there is such intricate detailing that the background also has as much vividness as the foreground. It is fun to look for the animals camouflaged in the artwork on almost every page. The illustrations of this book are probably the best I have seen in a long while. I would rate them ten stars if I could!

All in all, this is one delightful picture book filled with joy, warmth, laughter, and bonding. The story itself is charming, and the animals and the illustrations are a bonus.

Much recommended to little readers aged 3- 8. It would make the perfect accompaniment to bedtime reading or parent-child storytelling sessions.

Human daddies, this book would be a great way of bonding with your little one. If you read it well enough, who knows? Maybe you could surpass Daddy Tortoise as the “Best Daddy of All.” 😉

4.75 stars. (I’d have given this the full five stars had the animal facts been right.)

My thanks to North South Books for providing the DRC of “The Best Daddy of All” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.